Cartoon related to the incident by Tibetan cartoonist Jamyang Phuntsok

DHARAMSHALA, Feb. 7: High end automobile company Mercedes-Benz has issued a public apology on Tuesday after its ad on social media caused uproar among Chinese consumers for quoting the Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

German carmaker Daimler which owns Mercedes-Benz released a statement that offered their “sincerest apologies” for an Instagram post on the Mercedes-Benz official page that carried the hashtag “#MondayMotivation”. A photo of one of the company’s production car featured a quote by the Dalai Lama: “Look at the situations from all angles, and you will become more open.”

Chinese nitizens reportedly objected to the incident and called for the boycott of the automobile company. Chinese state-media also issued strong worded protest against the post stating, “This is an ill-intentioned poster. It is not only an offense, but even more so, it’s a challenge to the Chinese people. Needless to say, it’s hateful.”

The German company on its official Weibo account, the Chinese equivalent of twitter, said that they, “will promptly take steps to deepen our understanding of Chinese culture and values, our international staff included, to help standardize our actions to ensure this sort of issue doesn’t happen again.

“Although we deleted the post as soon as possible, it has hurt the feelings of people in this country. In this regard, we extend our sincerest apologies.”

The Mercedes-Benz cowering under Chinese market is not an isolated incident with airlines company Delta, hotel chain Marriott and clothing brand Zara also facing similar reactions from the Chinese government and Chinese citizens.

Meanwhile. Tibetans and supporters in the free world expressed their reservations over the issue accusing the luxury brand automobile company for placing money over justice and truth.